trace the ridges in your pocket

worry stone long held runs a mirror at life

like the rub of cold cream across the desert of your painted features

the skin a geography of stories like so many others yet alone

just yours

life puts you under pressure tears plink rhythmically boring bowls into the surface of your days

not without regret you can still look forward

this now this vantage point this precious piece of earth this stone held dearly between thumb and four fingers

life dormant deep under the surface